Professional Monitoring
Monitoring?! Why do I need THAT? Just make a lot of noise and scare off the burglar!" Great response - hope that works out for you. Unfortunately, the naive scenario just described will only actually work if you have a random, unplanned intusion and the ONLY thing you're worried about is protecting your stuff. Since its our responsibility to point out all the really ugly stuff that could happen, however, we're going to do just that. Isn't that why you decided to contact a professional in the first place?
Let's begin with the aforementioned unplanned intrusion. Guy breaks in, alarm goes off, he knows he still has a couple of minutes so he grabs some stuff. Then, you walk in. Uh oh - NOW what? Trust that the neighbors have called the police? Have YOU, ever, when YOU heard an alarm going off? With Professional Monitoring, the chances of being surprised and overcome by an intruder drop to almost zero.
Or how about this scenario: the guy knows you have an alarm, knows you'll be coming back after dark, so he just waits in the bushes until you drive up. Surprise! "Now, lady, just turn off your alarm and no one gets hurt." Sure. With Professional Monitoring, however, you can generate a special silent "panic" signal that alerts the police at the same time as you disarm your system. NOW maybe no one will get hurt - except maybe Joe Ski-Mask there.
Another good reason to engage a Professional Monitoring Service is an area we call "Supervision." Our systems constantlty monitor the integrity of the devices that protect you and the wiring that goes to them. If you drive a nail through a security wire while hanging a picture, we'll call you and let you know so we can fix it before you need to arm your system. Pretty neat, huh? That also prevents anyone from deliberately sabotaging your system while you're not looking.
If you're still unsure, the best reason of all is fire protection. If you have a monitored fire alarm system, your chances of saving both your life and your property are near 100%. Without that, its a roll of the dice. "Yeah, but the smoke alarms will let me know there's a fire so I'll still get out safely and then call 9-1-1." Maybe - unless you're overcome by smoke in the process. And since the interior of a room can reach 1000 degrees in a matter of 3 minutes from the time a smoldering fire bursts into flame, every response second counts.
Why do we keep saying "Professional" Monitoring? No kidding, there's folks out there that do it in their basement at home and you might never know it. Except, maybe, for the "low-low" price you paid for your system to begin with. After all, you get what you pay for.
Here's the bottom line - don't be dumb. An alarm system without Professional Monitoring is like a cop without a gun. Looks good, no real deterrence. Got it?